Xunlei Builds Blockchain 3.0 Ecosystem with StellarCloud and ThunderChain Open Platform to Empower Developers and End Users
By PR Newswire

BEIJING, May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Xunlei Limited (Nasdaq: XNET) and its cloud computing arm Shenzhen Onething Technologies Co. Ltd. ("Onething Technologies") today announced the launches of StellarCloud and ThunderChain Open Platform, in an attempt to build a blockchain ecosystem involving companies, developers and end users.

StellarCloud is a shared cloud computing platform which expands Xunlei's existing Content Delivery Network (CDN) services to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), offering Edge Computing, Function Computing and Shared CDN (SCDN) solutions. StellarCloud is created to help companies in their transition to cloud, including content delivery, live streaming, data storage and artificial intelligence (AI). Supported by over 1.5 million computing nodes, StellarCloud can offer as much as 30T bandwidth capacity and 1500 PB storage capacity.

ThunderChain is a high-performance blockchain infrastructure that can concurrently process over a million transactions per second (TPS). The underlying technology has been in use for StellarCloud given its large-scale distributed network. Now with ThunderChain Open Platform, third-party developers and companies, especially startups, can easily build, migrate and manage decentralized applications (DApps) with low operating costs. Xunlei introduced an incentive program to support developers and entrepreneurs to build DApps on ThunderChain. Qualified developers will get free access to ThunderChain for the first year and receive a total of 300 million LinkToken period used specifically for research and development starting from 16 May 2018 over a three-year period. ThunderChain developers will be exposed to Xunlei's huge user base and have opportunities to obtain investment and incubation for promising projects among other incentive policies.

The debut of StellarCloud and ThunderChain Open Platform, in addition to Xunlei's blockchain-based personal cloud device OneThing Cloud, will create a Blockchain 3.0 ecosystem participated by millions of users, developers and companies. Within the ecosystem, OneThing Cloud users can voluntarily share their idle computing resources to receive LinkToken as a proof of contribution. LinkToken can be used to exchange for products and services that companies develop with ThunderChain Open Platform or StellarCloud. Enterprise users can exchange LinkToken for the idle computing resources contributed by OneThing Cloud users. The closed-loop ecosystem demonstrates two main advantages. First, individual users can be encouraged to share their redundant resources with enterprises with a high level of trust. Second, enterprise users can save their operating costs and create applications and services that cater to end users' practical needs. In terms of legal compliance, Xunlei's PRC legal adviser, King & Wood Mallesons, issued a legal opinion which reaffirms that Xunlei's blockchain-related business operations, including OneThing Cloud, are in compliance with the existing laws and administrative regulations in China.

"Incentive and trust are two main issues facing not only shared computing but also every sharing economy model in today's digital age. The emergence of blockchain technology – featuring immutability, openness and fairness - provides efficient solutions to some of the pressing problems we encounter today," said Mr. Lei Chen, CEO of Xunlei and Onething Technologies. "With Xunlei's blockchain infrastructure, strong developer support and a million-user ecosystem, developers and companies can create practical applications and solutions that really benefit end users in the era of Blockchain 3.0."

During the launch event on May 16 in Beijing, Xunlei unveiled strategic partnership with iQIYI, a US-listed innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, as one of the first batch of clients to receive IaaS and other shared cloud computing services. In addition, Xunlei and its third-party partners demonstrated multiple case studies of blockchain applications on ThunderChain Open Platform, including IP and copyright protection, philanthropy and healthcare. These partners noted that ThunderChain provides a more transparent, secured and innovative solution that can benefit the whole society.

Representatives from research institutions, industry associations and partner companies also attended the launch ceremony and together discussed how blockchain technology could solve the problems facing various industries, such as information technology, public services, industrial development and global trade.